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TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing fees for mobile food vendors; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

PURPOSE:

This bill will place an annual cap on the amount of fees municipalities in Erie County can charge on mobile food trucks and mobile food truck vendors.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 391 of the general business law by adding a new section S that establishes that municipalities in Erie County may not charge a mobile food vendor an annual fee of more than two hundred fifty dollars per mobile vending vehicle.

Section 1 also defines mobile food vendors as any person who hawks, peddles, sells, or offers food for sale at retail in any public space and such food items are presented to the public in a mobile vehicle, such as, but not limited to, a pushcart, car, van, or truck. Additionally, Section 1 excludes any person who is solely delivering food that has been previously ordered and purchased from an established retail location.

Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect immediately and shall sunset after two years.

JUSTIFICATION:

Food trucks are a growing industry throughout the state, particularly in Western New York. This legislation imposes a car) of $250 on the annual fees a municipality in Erie County can charge. Many local towns, villages and cities currently impose heavily inflated fees on these small businesses, which limits their growth potential and mobility. Food truck licensing fees vary across the state, but often far outweigh fees charged on brick and mortar restaurants, sometimes by hundreds of dollars. Because they are a new and quickly growing industry, municipalities often develop regulations and fee schedules from scratch and without comparison or consultation with their peers throughout the state.

To curb this, and to set in place a more uniform standard for food trucks, this legislation limits the amount of annual fees in Erie County to $250. In Cleveland, mobile food vendors pay a $100 permit fee and food truck managers must purchase a $60 identification badge from the city, Chicago, a city with a population of 2.7 million, charges $660 for a two-year permit.

In comparison, the City of Buffalo currently charges mobile food truck vendors a fee of $1,000, far above the national norm and prohibitive to the growth and expansion of this industry. This cap is both necessary and practical, affording this growing industry the ability to reach its full potential.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2012: S.7860 Referred to Rules

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed repealed two years after such effective date.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
537--B
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________

Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing
fees for mobile food vendors; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon the expiration thereof
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
391-s to read as follows:
S 391-S. MOBILE FOOD VENDORS. 1. MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED WITHIN THE
COUNTY OF ERIE MAY NOT CHARGE A MOBILE FOOD VENDOR AN ANNUAL FEE OF MORE
THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS PER MOBILE VENDING VEHICLE.
2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, A MOBILE FOOD VENDOR IS ANY PERSON
WHO HAWKS, PEDDLES, SELLS, OR OFFERS FOOD FOR SALE AT RETAIL IN ANY
PUBLIC SPACE AND SUCH FOOD ITEMS ARE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC IN A MOBILE
VEHICLE, SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A PUSHCART, CAR, VAN, OR TRUCK.
3. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY PERSON WHO IS
SOLELY DELIVERING FOOD THAT HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ORDERED AND PURCHASED
FROM AN ESTABLISHED RETAIL LOCATION.
S 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
deemed repealed two years after such effective date.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03948-04-3

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